Being new to trikes (but definitely not to motorcycles) I was enthused about the rally. Then after reading several comments about the lack of diversity of brands and the group rides I began to have second thoughts. So I went directly to the source, the rally coordinator, and she gave me permission to post her reply to my email inquiry. Here it is in its entirety:
"Hi Jerry
Thanks for the questions but truly you should not be concerned. This is not a Can-Am Spyder rally – It was never intended to be that and it is not promoted as such. For the first two years of the rally BRP stepped up to the plate and gave us a $10,000 sponsorship. That is more than Harley or Honda or Polaris or any other dealership has done to date. That being said…..we still promote for and want this to be an all -inclusive trike rally In 2017 Harley Davidson was a sponsor and we had 70 Harley trikes here. We expect and want that number to grow. And to answer your question – NO…everyone is treated exactly the same because we all put our pants on the same way (as far as I know) LOL
Here’s some insight on what I have seen: The Can-Am Spyder riders seem to jump at doing their registration sooner – they have close knit riding clubs and do a great job on their social media interactions etc. The HD riders are more laid back and quite honestly it is not until the rally gets closer that they start sending in their registrations. So it looks like it is just a Can-Am Spyder event when it is truly not…nor is it the plan that it will ever be an exclusive event,
We advertise in the Harley Davidson Magazine and will do so again this year – we have a close relationship with the Black Hills Harley Davidson dealership in Rapid City and we want to grow our relationship with all the trike dealerships, conversion manufacturers and the like to make this an ALL TRIKE-inclusive event.
My past experience of being a chamber director does not allow me to exclude and I am proud to be proactive in getting all types, makes and models at this rally.
All that being said – Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will do more posts about Harley and other trikes to ensure that everyone knows this is a fun rally for any trike owner or enthusiasts.
The Can-Am registrants have asked for some tune-up education classes and special socials in 2018 – We try to accommodate their requests but they are only given so much time out of the rally for their own thing. If HD or Honda or Polaris want the same – we try and accommodate them too. In fact during the first year we had a special Slingshot breakfast because they were brand new and so many of them came to the rally….they wanted their own time to chat and show off.
This is a long answer to say NO…you will not be excluded at all or made to feel different – not on this gal’s watch!!
Take care Jerry and I hope you come to the rally and see for yourself how well everyone gets along.
I truly appreciate your question…it gives me an opportunity to show my conviction.
Take care,
Teresa
Teresa Schanzenbach
D3WR Event Coordinator
Group Sales Representative
First Gold Hotel & Gaming
270 Main, Deadwood, SD 57732
teresas@firstgold.com
www.firstgold.com
Office: 1-800-274-1876 Ext. 1102
Cell: 605-210-0433"
Now with all that being said I still have a discomfort about riding in groups with folks i do not know and am not accustomed to riding with. So like others have said I may do the rides with the few riding buddies that will be accompanying me to the rally. But I do hope to meet some nice folks no matter what brand they ride and hopefully ride some roads I may not have otherwise known about.
Jerry